The use of chemicals in agriculture has become a common practice throughout the world. Practically all crops that are grown for human consumption are grown in the presence of chemicals. Terrestrial herbicides are routinely employed to control unwanted grassy and broadleaf weeds in desirable food crops such as corn and soybeans.
While there are numerous chemical agents currently available that are effective as selective terrestrial herbicides, few agents are available for controlling the growth of aquatic vegetation in water bodies such as lakes, ponds, streams, rivers and the like. Most herbicides that are effective terrestrially are not suitable for use in aquatic environments. This may be due to the fact that the terrestrial herbicides simply will not control the aquatic vegetation, the terrestrial herbicide is not stable in an aquatic environment, or because the toxicity of the terrestrial herbicides render them unfit for use in water containing animal life.
Lavanish, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,679, recently reported a series of isoxazolylimidazolidinones that are effective as terrestrial herbicides and are safe for use on corn, soybeans, wheat and the like. We have now discovered that certain isoxazolylimidazolidinones are useful in the control of aquatic vegetation in bodies of water. An object of this invention therefore is to provide an aquatic herbicidal method employing isoxazolylimidazolidinones.